EPIC Urges PCLOB to Examine Impacts of Domestic Terrorism Investigations

In comments for an upcoming meeting of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, EPIC urged the Board to investigate the use of facial recognition, aerial surveillance, fusion centers, and location data purchased from data brokers in domestic terrorism investigations. EPIC also urged the Board to review and critique the classification of “domestic terrorism” as separate from other forms of terrorism the government has historically pursued because that classification “may itself exacerbate differential impacts on racial and other minority groups.” EPIC will attend the meeting and file further comments.

EPIC has been a proponent of empowering the Board to conduct meaningful oversight of government surveillance since its inception. EPIC previously urged the Oversight Board to conduct a review of surveillance under Executive Order 12333. In 2020, EPIC and a coalition of 40 organizations urged the PCLOB to recommend suspending face surveillance across the federal government.